The Culture of Power

Student writers have a penchant for exclamation points. Fowler and Fowler claim:

"The exclamation mark must not be used . . . we feel that the writer is indeed lost in admiration of his own wit or impressiveness. But this is mainly confined to lower-class authors" ([1906] 2002, 255). Clearly usage is judged in complicated and unpleasant ways that support Delpit's claims about a culture of power. (Ehrenworth and Vinton, p. 60)"The exclamation mark must not be used . . . we feel that the writer is indeed lost in admiration of his own wit or impressiveness. But this is mainly confined to lower-class authors" ([1906] 2002, 255). Clearly usage is judged in complicated and unpleasant ways that support Delpit's claims about a culture of power. (Ehrenworth and Vinton, p. 60)

How can a mere exclamation point place a writer at advantage or disadvantage in the culture of power?


external image pdf.png Commas.pdf
external image pdf.png Rhetorical Punct.pdf
external image pdf.png HierachyoPunct.pdf